Alta Gracia Could Be Model for Apparel Industry
Alta Gracia, the first apparel factory in the developing world to pay a living wage, is a big step toward setting a new standard for apparel manufacturing around the world. But consumers must be energized to buy the new brand in large numbers before other manufacturers will follow suit, several experts said today.
The market is growing for the Alta Gracia products, mainly college logo T-shirts and sweatshirts, but is limited to college bookstores. Much more needs to be done to convince sympathetic groups like unions, human rights organizations and state and local governments to insist on buying only apparel made by workers who earn a living wage.
Shailor Named to State Department Post
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Barbara Shailor, former international affairs director of the AFL-CIO, has been named U.S. State Department’s new special representative for international labor affairs.
Shailor will lead State’s efforts to promote worker rights, conduct liaison with the global labor movement and focus on strengthening the labor officer operations in U.S. embassies around the world.
Shailor led the AFL-CIO International Department for nearly 15 years, serving as senior adviser to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and AFL-CIO President Emeritus John Sweeney on foreign and international policy issues. Prior to joining the AFL-CIO staff, Shailor served as international affairs director for the Machinists (IAM).
A State Department announcement says Shailor is
internationally recognized for her lifelong work to secure economic, social, and political rights for workers in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Help Match $100,000 Donation to Haiti from Union Plus
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The union movement is working to bring relief to workers in Haiti affected by the Jan. 12 earthquake and to build a long-term strategy to move the country away from a sweatshop economy to one that provides good jobs.
The first priority has been to respond to urgent needs for food, water, medical attention and dry shelter. If you haven’t yet had a chance to help, or wish to donate again to relief efforts, Union Plus has pledged to match up to $100,000 in individual donations to the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center’s Earthquake Relief Fund. Already, Union Plus has matched $80,000 and needs just $20,000 more to reach that goal. Click here to donate online now. Donations also can be made by sending a check with Earthquake Relief Fund for Haitian Workers in the memo line to:
Solidarity Center Education Fund
Attention: Joan Welsh
888 16th St., N.W., Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20006
Don’t Forget Haiti’s Workers
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Despite reports of improved conditions in Port-au-Prince, two weeks after the earthquake hit Haiti, workers still lack basic shelter, food, water and medicine, reports Cathy Feingold, the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center representative in the neighboring Dominican Republic.
Feingold met with union leaders in Haiti last week and says:
…the majority of union leaders and members are sleeping outside their homes because many completely collapsed or became unstable as a result of structural damage. Direct access to international humanitarian aid remains challenging; so many workers and their unions depend on the support received from the global labor movement.
You can take action now to help the Haitian survivors by clicking on the AFL-CIO Haitian Disaster Relief site here. You can read Feingold’s full report here.
